To revive slumping sales of plant-based meat, brands need to make a stronger case for why consumers should try, and repeatedly buy, their products – but to do this they need to know who is open to trying their products and why, which is where the Good Food Institute’s new plant-based meat consumer segmentation can help.
“We know that about half of US consumers have tried plant-based meat at this point, and some have stopped buying, or they haven’t bought recently, and that can be largely linked to the declining sales” in recent years, according to Jody Kirchner, the associate director of market insights at The Good Food Institute.
But, she explained at Future Food-Tech in Chicago last week, the plant-based meat market in 2024 was valued at $1.2 billion in sales – almost twice the size of seven years ago.
“This is not a niche market,” she added, pointing to GFI’s consumer segmentation research, which shows three-quarters of US consumers aged 18 years to 59 years are open to choosing plant-based alternatives.
“Within that, there is room to grow with new consumers who are interested in the category, consumers who maybe haven’t bought recently, but remain open, and even current consumers who maybe aren’t buying very frequently. So, lots of opportunity for growth,” she said.
To help plant-based meat manufacturers and brands seize that opportunity, GFI examined the characteristics and motivations of the three-quarters of consumers who currently buy or are open to trying plant-based meat, and identified six subgroups.
‘Ethical alternative seekers’ and health-focused shoppers most open to plant-based
Of these six, the group that is most open to buying plant-based meat are the “ethical alternative seekers,” who Kirchner described as “very concerned about issues, like sustainability and animal welfare” and already actively reducing their conventional meat consumption.
This group leans younger, with about 29% Gen Z and 40% Millennial, and have an average household income of $96,200, according to GFI.
The research also revealed that while 81% of this group are likely to consume plant-based meat, 28% said they would consider plant-based meat more if it was less processed and 25% said they would eat more if it was healthier.
The second segmentation – dubbed the health-conscious compromisers – are also motivated by health with just under a third reducing their animal protein consumption to improve their heart health and to avoid hormones and steroids. Seven in ten in this group associate plant-based with “healthy,” while 48% associate it with nutritious and 43% with high-protein. In addition, 38% associate it with low-fat, according to GFI.
For them, the compromise comes with taste, texture and price. GFI found 53% would consider plant-based meat more if it was more affordable. A third said the same if it tasted more like conventional meat and 28% said they would consider it more if the texture was more like conventional meat.
The third segment, nutrition-focused integrators, “also are very health focused, but in a more nuanced way,” in that they focus on nutrients and are “very careful about what they put in their bodies,” said Kirchner.
About a third of this group would consider plant-based meat more if it was free of additives and artificial ingredients and if it was more affordable, according to GFI.
‘Protein maximizers’ and ‘carefree considerers’ may require more persuasion
The last two groups, while open to plant-based meat, are currently the least engaged and may be a harder sell, Kirchner said.
They include the “protein maximizers,” of whom only 6% are reducing or eliminating conventional meat, and “carefree considerers,” only 10% of whom are reducing or eliminating conventional meat.
Protein maximizers say they would consider plant-based meat more if it had a texture morel like conventional meat, if everyone in their household enjoyed it, it had less fat and was easier to cook.
Carefree considerers, on the other hand, have much lower awareness of plant-based meat (63% are aware versus 84% of protein maximizers who report awareness), but those who are aware associate it with excitement. One in five report they would consider plant-based more if it had fewer ingredients and fewer calories than conventional meat, according to GFI.
The role of health in selecting protein
Nearly all consumers consider health when weighing whether to buy plant-based meat, but as Kirchner notes, their definition of ‘healthy’ varies significantly – underscoring the importance for manufacturers to target specific attributes of health that resonate with the groups they are targeting.
She also recommends marketers tailor messaging based on where consumers are on the spectrum of reducing conventional meat.
Brands interested in learning more about the segmentation to frame their marketing strategies can learn more at GFI’s website.
